Stethoscope

#23 AMA Victoria in the media: transparency in our hospitals

31 August 2018

Hospital complication rates are currently hidden from patients and doctors.

Data obtained by state and federal health departments prevents hospitals from being identified or compared, and there is still a great deal of secrecy in certain areas of the health system. Some say that this is to avoid the naming and shaming of lower ranked hospitals.

AMA Victoria president Julian Rait spoke to the age about this issue this week. “I would argue that as a doctor you have an ethical obligation to speak out about matters of quality care,” he said. “But many can’t. They have to raise their concerns through us instead.”